Theatre

The
Dr. Barbara Strain and Dr. John F. Skinner Memorial Scholarship honors the
memory of two beloved faculty members who devoted many years of their life to
the students of this department. Barbara Strain received her baccalaureate
degree from Birmingham Southern College, her Master of Arts degree from Ohio
State University, and her doctorate from The University of Texas at Austin. The
courses she taught at San Antonio College included Fundamentals of Speech,
Business and Professional Speech, Voice and Diction, and Pronunciation for Non-native
Speakers. At the request of the English as a Second Language (ESOL) department,
she designed the communication curriculum for two courses. With Patricia
Wysong, she was co-author of a speech communication textbook, Communication
Skills. Among her innovations as an instructor was the use of special
computer software called Video Voice to help students master the sounds
and stresses of spoken English. Dr. Strain was a talented performer in
departmental and community theatre productions. Her roles as Bernarda in The
House of Bernarda Alba and as Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker
at the San Pedro Playhouse were among her favorites. At San Antonio College,
her roles included Eleanor in The Lion in Winter, the Narrator in Disney's
Beauty and the Beast, as well as a cast member in Jules Pfeiffer's Hold
Me!, The World of Sally Forth, An Evening with Mark Twain, Talking
Pictures, and Eve Ensler's The Good Body. At Birmingham Community
Theatre she performed the roles of Mary in The Women and Prioress in Cradle
Song. She was a cast member in a popular recent production of The Vagina
Monologues at San Antonio's Church Theatre.

Dr.
John F. Skinner began teaching in the department at San Antonio College in
1984. He received his Bachelor of Arts, Masters of Arts, and doctorate all from
the University of Texas in Speech Communication /Oral Interpretation. While at
SAC, he served as Chairperson for three years, served as web-master and created
the first online speech class for the department. He wrote and directed faculty
and student based theatre productions both as fundraisers for the department’s
scholarship funds and as part of the theatre season. He also served as the
coach for the Speech Team for four years and facilitated the establishment of
the non-native speech lab in the department. He co-authored two Speech
Communication textbooks, Mastering Public
Speaking and Communication: The Handbook.The text, Mastering Public Speaking consistently remains on of the top
three most widely used texts in the speech community since it was first
published in 1992. In addition of working tirelessly as a classroom teacher
with over 10,000 students passing through his door, he presented numerous
workshops, seminars, and academic scholarship papers at the Texas Speech
Communication Association, and the National communication Association. Above
all, Dr. Skinner was recognized by his students and faculty colleagues, as an
exceptionally caring educator.

In
the spirit of Dr. Strain and Dr. Skinners’ contributions to and support of speech
communication and theatre, this award in their names is designed to reward the
academic achievements of speech and theatre majors at San Antonio College who
are in financial need.

Criteria for
eligibility for the Dr. Barbara Strain Memorial Scholarship:Must be a Speech/Drama Major
Must have a 2.0 or above GPA with a 3.0 GPA in your Major
Interview with a committee member-Paula Rodriguez, Ronnie Watson, or Jolinda
Ramsey
Must be enrolled as a full-time student (12 hours)
Enrolled in at least one Speech/Drama course each semester
Completion of Scholarship Application, including one letter of recommendation.
Must be available to provide service hours.

Application
Process(Incomplete or late applications will
not be considered):1. Get an application from the Program Departmental
office: McAllister Fine Arts Building (MCFA), Room 125/105
2. Complete the Scholarship Application.
3. Write your one page personal statement.
4. Get one letter of recommendation from a Drama or Speech instructor from whom
you either took a class from, or who has supervised you work in a theatrical
production or speech activity
5. Submit your scholarship application, including the one letter of
recommendation before the deadline to:

Applicants
will be notified of their scholarship status approximately two weeks after
their interview. Scholarship recipients must submit a signed State of Intent to
the Fine Arts Department within 7 days of receiving their scholarship award.
Failure to sign and submit a Statement of Intent will result in the
cancellation of the scholarship.

3.Submit your scholarship application, including
reference signature from the Speech Communication/Theatre faculty or staff,
before the appropriate deadline to:

Mary Elizabeth Crowe Speech
ScholarshipMary Crow was an adjunct speech
instructor for many years at San Antonio College. The scholarship was set up to
help students become more effective in speech communication. It is also to
assist students in obtaining a major or minor and encourage them to participate
in the various aspects of speech communication. The speech faculty will determine
the recipient and award this scholarship at the end of the spring term.